The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

POLICE are unable to confirm whether an American woman alleging “kidnapping and rape” at the hands of a local parasailing boat operator 20 years ago has filed a report in the Bahamas.

Sources within the Royal Bahamas Police Force said on Friday they were working to determine if Alicia Conte-Blackwood had filed her report as claimed earlier this week.

Officials told The Tribune that information connected to the case was being reviewed as the status of the ordeal was still being verified as presented to officers.

Mrs Conte-Blackwood, when contacted by The Tribune on Thursday, insisted that she had filed a status report on the matter at Central Police Station in New Providence, claiming further that her case was now being investigated by a "Detective 3071 Rolle".

The Tribune was unsuccessful in verifying if the officer identified by Mrs Conte-Blackwood exists, with police personnel refusing to comment.

Details of Mrs Conte-Blackwood's story were first reported on Thursday in The Tribune. She claimed that, in the late 1990s, she was transported to a secluded island by her alleged attacker via a boat she said was chartered by her family the day before.

The California native in several posts and videos uploaded to Facebook this week outlined her journey back to the Bahamas with the sole intent of breaking her silence and speaking to local authorities on the matter.

In her main post, which has been shared more than 1,200 times, Mrs Conte-Blackwood claimed she had long contemplated making her alleged abuse public but was scared off, adding that now her “fear judgement” could no longer outweigh her need to “warn” persons visiting Paradise Island.

The post has since gone viral and sparked intense debate over whether her claims should be considered given the time that has elapsed between the alleged attack and her decision to speak on it.

In some instances, Bahamians using Facebook have criticised Mrs Conte-Blackwood for changes made to her original post and strong claims made about the state of crime in the Bahamas.

Mrs Conte-Blackwood, in her series of posts to Facebook this week, said she was shocked during her return visit to the Athol Island beach she was allegedly taken to 20 years ago after being taken from the beach in front of Atlantis. She noted that the Paradise Island resort exhibited the same “lack of security and safety for Americans” as when the alleged incident occurred.

She also claimed the US Embassy in the Bahamas was working with her to find her alleged abuser; however, officials there declined to comment.

The US Embassy has on several occasions warned Americans in the Bahamas of patronising water sports operators, stressing that the industry has been unregulated for some time.

The warnings came after a number of incidents where tourists where reportedly assaulted by operators. Several alleged attacks occurred last year.